Zambian project saving money while helping the planet

Zambian entrepreneur Dorcas Lukwesa is blending fish farming with vegetable growing – and helping the planet in the process.

Her mobile aquaponics project has already been recognised internationally, winning her the Resolution Social Venture Challenge (SVC) at Mastercard Foundation’s Baobab Summit last year.

Dorcas uses the organic waste from her fish to fertilise the land on which she grows vegetables.

This not only saves her money, but makes her environmentally friendly

Her green credentials are further added to by the fact she only uses sustainable materials that are locally to hand.

The project can be duplicated by others as it suits all land types and can

be deployed even in areas where

decent soil or adequate water supply is scarce.

That is because the system, largely constructed from bamboo, not only promotes fish and vegetable farming, but helps recycle water.

Dorcas told Camfed: “Promoting systems of farming like aquaponics is very important [to tackle the] climate crisis because it uses 90 per cent less water than traditional agriculture, is 70 per cent more productive, does not require soil, does not have weeds, has fewer pests, and can be built at any scale anywhere in the world using available resources like bamboo.”

It is also particularly well suited for use by women, who make up the majority of farmers in the country, she said.

“We project to reach over 2,000 rural women farmers over the next five years.

“We hope that our farmers will be able to replicate the idea by building their own aquaponics systems using locally available bamboo and improving agricultural production and livelihoods so that no girl will spend a term out of school because of lack of school fees or a uniform.”

Dorcas hopes her concept will help reduce poverty in Zambia.

“My plan is to replicate the system in my rural community back in Zambia to improve the sustainability of food production and nutrition in marginalised communities,” she said.

“I also plan to work with other female smallholder farmers to incubate this idea at Camfed’s climate-smart demonstration farm in Chinsali, Zambia, training young women to farm fresh fish and vegetables locally, sustainably and using local natural resources.”